In the past few years, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns were always present in NBA trade rumors. A big reason for this was their incapability to contend. The Lakers have missed the playoffs in the last four seasons. During that stretch, they have failed to win at least 30 games in every campaign. Meanwhile, the last time the Suns made it to the postseason was in the 2009-10 season. That was when they still had the likes of Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and Grant Hill.

The Lakers and Suns are trying to find their winning ways this season.

Both are making progress, though they need to address problems within their respective squads. A report by Lake Show Life suggested a possible trade which may eliminate some of the major issues each team is facing.

The trade

Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng were among the reasons why the Lakers have been favorites in NBA trade rumors. The Lakers signed Mozgov and Deng to hefty contracts in the 2016 offseason. They were expected to guide the young players while starring for the rebuilding team. Unfortunately, the two failed to accomplish those roles. In this year's offseason, the Lakers already parted ways with Mozgov. However, they still have Deng, whose deal has two years left in it.

The Lakers aim to get rid of Deng to have space in their salary cap that will allow them to ink stars in the 2018 free agency period.

Deng was in numerous NBA trade rumors, but nothing has materialized.

Lake Show Life proposed a trade that will see the Lakers send Deng to the Suns. The 32-year-old veteran will be in a package deal joined by Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac. Randle is one of the best developing talents on the Lakers roster, and that makes him an enticing trade asset.

The majority of purple and gold fans may want him to stay, but as of the moment, his future with the franchise is uncertain.

Zubac showed flashes of greatness in his rookie year, though this season he is rarely used. In exchange for the frontcourt trio, the Lakers will receive Greg Monroe and Mike James from the Suns.

Resolve the problems

The trade can solve the salary cap problems of the Lakers. Once Deng is with the Suns, they are free of his pricey contract. Then, there is also no need to re-sign Randle, which means they are going to have more money to spend come free agency. Meanwhile, the deal will address the dilemma of the Suns when it comes to Monroe.

In November, after months of being a topic in NBA trade rumors, the Milwaukee Bucks finally dealt Monroe to the Suns. But it looks like he does not intend to represent Phoenix for long. According to reports, the 27-year-old hopes to play elsewhere and he may fulfill that in Los Angeles.